Internal-combustion turbine



L. C. JOSEPHS, JR-

INTERNAL comsusnow TURBINE.-

MN l N ww MN N 3 \N 3 n-ov army /bs, dz h 7% UNITED STATES LYM'AN C.JOSEPHS, JR, 0F FLUSHING, NEW YORK.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION TURBINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1922.

Application filed September 25, 1919. Serial No. 326,407.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LYMAN C. JosEPHs, J r., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at F lushin in the county of Queens and State of ewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in an Internal-Combustion Turbine, of which the following, together with theaccompanying drawm s, is a specification.

y invention relates to internal combustion engines of the rotary type,more commonly known as gas turbines. The object of my invention is toprovide an internal combustion turbine that is extremely simple inconstruction and embodies certain novel features of design andprinciples of operation not heretofore employed in engines of thisclass.

Internal combustion or gas turbines, as heretofore constructed, haveusually comprised a bladed or vaned rotor element adapted to be drivenby the impact or reaction of gases resulting from the combustion of anexplosive mixture in suitable combustion chambers. Among the practicaldifficulties encountered in the commercial development of this type ofturbine has been the injurious effects of the hot gases upon the turbineblades, for it has been found that the extremely high temperature andcorrosive action of the hot gases tend to destroy the most resistantmaterial. This has necessitated the use of various means for cooling theturbine blades, such as the pro vision of water jackets, or the use ofsteam acting directly on the rotor, independently of the gases ofcombustion. In addition, the high pressures employed have resulted inthe use of relatively heavy parts in order to provide therequisitestrength and dura bility. A further inherent defect of previous gasturbines, resulting from the use of high pressures, has been the amountof energy required to compress the air that makes up a large part of theexplosive mix ture, and which must be supplied to the combustionchambers at high'pressure. As a result, it has often been foundnecessary to provide separate air compressing and steam generating unitsas part of the auxiliary equipment of a gas turbine, thereby increasingthe complication of the machine, as a whole, and rendering itsapplication in small units impracticable.

By my invention, I propose to substantially eliminate the abovedescribed difliculare supplied. The steam, or other vapor, is

formed directly in the combustion chamber, and the temperature of theresulting mixture is not high enough to injure the rotor. I furtherprovide a turbine operating at a relatively low pressure, in which theair entering into the explosive mixture is delivered in suflfl'cientquantity by a turbo-blower mounted directly on the rotor shaft adjacentto the combustion chamber, thereby eliminating the auxiliary compressor.

The single figure. of the accompanying drawlng 1s a transverse sectionalview of a turbine embodyin my invention. I

Referring to tie drawings, the turbine comprises a hollow cylindricalcasing 1, within which is centrally located a shaft 2, rotatablysupported at its ends in bearings 3 and The right-hand portion of theshaft 2 1s surrounded by a hollow cylindrical spider 5, around theperiphery of which are mounted a plurality of sets of blades or vanes 6and 7, the number of sets of blades being determined by the number ofstages which 1t is desired to have in the turbine. The inner peripheryof the casing l'is provided with a plurality of sets of guides 8 and 9arranged alternately between the blades 6 and 7, as is customary inturbine practice. The casing 1 is further provided with inwardlyextending annular projections 10 and 11, within which are formed aplurality of nozzle openings 12 and 13, respectively terminatlngadjacent to the blades 6 and 7. The casing 1 is somewhat enlarged beyondthe projection 10, as shown at l, to provide a combustion chamber 14between the inner periphery of the casing 1 and the outer periphery ofthe spider 5. The chamber 4 is generally frusto-conical in form, withits smallest cross section adjacent to the nozzle openings 12. Thechamber 14 is provided with a lining 14 of heat-resistant material, suchas nickel steel.

The left hand portion of the shaft 2 is surrounded by a hollowcylindrical spider 15 similar to the spider 5, but separated therefromby a chamber 16, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Aplurality of blades or vanes 17 are. provlded pipe 19, centrally locatedwithin the shaft 2,

is connected to the chamber 16, whichwill be hereafter known as thefluid chamber. One or more nozzles 20 are provided around the peripheryof the chamber 16 and are respectively inclined toward the opposite endof the combustion chamber 14. The pipe 19 is of such diameter that anannular passage 21 is left between the pipe 19 and the inner wall of theshaft 2. The passage 21 connects with a space 22 located between theadjacent walls of the chamber 16 and of the spider 15. One or morenozzles 23 are peripherally arranged around the space 22 outside thenozzles 20, an ularly displaced with respect to the same. he nozzles 23are also inclined with respect to the nozzles 20 so that their paths ofdelivery will converge at a point beyond the middle of the combustionchamber 14. An ignition device 24 projects within the casing 1 about themiddle of the combustion chamber 14. The ignition device 24 is hereshown as being of the electric jump-spark type although it is to beunderstood that any other suitable ignition device, such as a hot tube,may be employed.

The right hand end of the rotor is provided with a condenser whichgenerall comprises a casing 25 adapted to rotate with the shaft 2, thebearing 3 supporting one end of the casing 25. A sleeve 26 surrounds areduced portion 2 of the shaft 2 and is provided with a passage 27 and aplurality of radial jets 28 opening into an annular condensing space 29within the casing 25. The condensing space 29 communicates with adischarge chamber 30, located between the spider 5 and the end wall 31ofthe casing 1, by means of a passage 32. An air-tight seal 33 isprovided between the end wall 31 and the condenser casing 25. Thechamber 29 is surrounded by a plurality of radial discharge jets 34which open to the outside atmosphere.

Having thus described the various parts of my turbine, the operationthereof is as follows :The passage 21 is first connected to a source offuel supply, it being understood that the fuel may be either in liquidform, such as gasoline, or it may be in the form of a pulverized solid,such as powdered carbon. The passages between the vanes 17 are open toair at atmospheric pressure. In order to start the turbine, the shaft 2is rotated by any suitable external means, such as a starting motor, andthe ignition device 24 is energized. As the shaft 2 rotates, air isdelivered by the blades 17 to the combustion chamber 14 and, at the sametime, fuel in atomized or finely powdered form is delivered by thenozzles 23 under the influence of centrifu a1 force. The blast of airdelivered by t e turbine blades 17 mixes with the fuel delivered by thenozzles 23 to form an explosive mixture which is ignited by the device24. As soon as the combustion is under way, the pipe 19 is connected toa source of water or any other readily vaporizable fluid, whereupon thenozzles 20 deliver the fluid in atomized form to the chamber 14. Thegases resulting from the combustion of the mixture of fuel and airimmediately convert the atomized fluid delivered by the nozzles 20 intosuperheated steam at a comparatively low pressure. -The mixture of vaporand combustion gases then passes out of the chamber 14 through thenozzles 12 and impinges upon the several sets of turbine blades 6 and 7at high velocity,

whereby its kinetic energy is converted into useful work at the shaft ofthe rotor. The angular displacement of the nozzles 20 and 23 is suchthat the flame tends to travel around the combustion chamber 14 in agenerally spiral form, and the atomized fluid is introduced into thisflame at points where the combustion is most'complete. It is evidentthat flame propagation and formation of fluid vapor in the combustionchamber is continuous after the first few turns of the starting motorand that the turbine will run so long as it is supplied with fuel.

The question of regulation in my improved turbine is extremely simple,in the entire absence of any auxiliary control de- Vices usual withturbines. It is apparent that when the nozzle sizes have once beendetermined to supply the proper proportions of fuel and water to supportgood combustion, the operation of the turbine can readily be controlledby simply varying the amounts of fuel and water supplied to the nozzlesfrom the chambers 16 and 22.

As the waste gases pass from the turbine stage into the condenser casing25, a continuous stream of water is delivered centrifugally by the jets28 into the condensing space 29, where the waste gases are condensed andtogether with the condensing water are ejected centrifugallyatatmospheric pressure through the jets 34. The condensed fluid may thenbe returned to the turbine, in any suitable manner, to be used a am.

From the foregoing it is apparent that an internal combustion turbineconstructed in accordance with my invention is extremely simple andentirely self-contained, inasmuch as the turbine blades, the combustionchamher, and the turbo-blower for the air supply are all inclosed withina single casing, and all moving parts are mounted on a single shaftrotating within the casing. The provision of a plurality of jets adapted'to simultaneously deliver atomized fuel and fluid by centrifugal forceinsures a continuous supply to the turbine as soon as the rotor beginsto turn, while the arrangement of jets so that atomized fluid will beintroduced into the combustion gases at points where the combustion ismost complete insures its immediate conversion into vapor. Thecontinuous transfer of heat from the combustion gases to the fluidinsures that the resulting vapor mixture will not be hot enough todamage the turbine blades. The

amount of energy consumed by the turboblovver is small in comparisontothe useful work performed by the turbine, and this energy loss canalways be kept at a low figure by so designing the blower that justenough air will be delivered to the combustion chamber to properlysupport combustion therein.

It is obvious that my turbine is particularly well adapted to producepower in units small enough to be used for the propulsion of. motorvehicles and it possesses many ad vantages over the present type ofreciprocating internal combustion engine, owing to its extremesimplicity and lightness of construction, absence of reciprocatingparts, and its ability to use almost any type of fuel. The powerrequired for starting the turbine should not be much greater than thatrequired for the usual type of internal combustion engine of the samecapacity.

The construction of an internal combustion turbine operating upon theabove described principles represents a distinct improvement in the artof producing power. Considered fundamentally, my invention consists inburning a combustible media in the presence of a non-combustible media,within a combustion space, followed by a transfer of heat between themedia, and their expansion together to perform useful work. Thepractical embodiment of my invention in an engine results in an internalcombustion turbine which will operate successfully at low pressures andlow temperatures, in direct contrast to the high pressures and hightemperatures heretofore employed in gas turbines. This difference inoperation is due to the fact that my improved turbine employs apropelling medium of considerable density, due to its large content offluid vapor, which possesses enough kinetic energy to drive the rotorwithout the development of high pressure Within the combustion chamber.-On the other hand, a turbine employing only the light gases ofcombustion as its propelling medium, must necessarily develop muchhigher pressures within its combustion chamber in order to perform thegame amount of Work as my improved tur- While I have shown my inventionin it simplest and preferred form, it is not so limited, but it isobvious that it is susceptible of various structural modificationswithout departing from the scope of my invention. I desire, therefore,that only such limitations be placed thereon ascome within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim 1. In an internal combustion turbine, the combination withsources of fuel and a vaporizable non-combustible medium, and acombustion chamber, of a rotor having a plurality of nozzles fordelivering the fuel and the non-combustible medium to said chamber bycentrifugal force.

2. In an internal combustion turbine, the combination with sources offuel and a vaporizable non-combustible medium, and a combustion chamber,of a rotor having a blower and a plurality of nozzles thereon forsimultaneously delivering air and the fuel and non-combustible medium inatomized form to said chamber.

3. In an internal combustion turbine, the combination with a rotor and acombustion chamber, of a plurality of containers carried by said rotorand provided with nozzles adapted" to deliver fuel and a vaporizablemedium to said chamber by centrifugal force.

4. In an internal combustion turbine, the combination with a rotor and acombustion chamber, of a plurality of nozzles and a blower arranged onsaid rotor for simultaneously delivering air, a vaporizable medium andfuel in atomized form to said chamber.

5. In an internal combustion turbine, the combination with sources offuel and a noncombustible medium and a combustion chamber, of a rotoroperating in said chamber and adapted to deliver the fuel and thenoncombustible medium to said chamber in converging streams.

6. In an internal combustion turbine, a combustion chamber and a bladedrot-or operating therein and provided with a plurality of nozzlesopening into said chamber at different angles for delivering convergingstreams offuel and a "aporizable medium into said combustion chamber.

7 In an internal combustion. turbine. the combination with a combustionchamberand sources of a combustible medium, a combustion supportingmedium, and a noncombustible medium, of a rotor adapted to deliver saidmedia to said chamber in converging

